Luke 19:28-40

Dianna and I had the great privilege a few years ago, of taking a trip to Israel. It was in the Spring of the year 2000, which sadly, was literally just a few weeks before conflicts with Lebanon escalated, which has been a very sad thing. But it was a wonderful, deeply meaningful time for us. Someday I would love to sponsor a trip to the Holy Land with this congregation; right now is a good time to go because the crowds are small, and it’s actually very safe – statistically safer than Philadelphia for sure! 

One of the lasting effects of that pilgrimage for me has been in the way that I now visualize many of the “main events” of our Christian faith. For example, the Christmas story feels quite different to me since then! Standing in front of a shepherd’s cave looking up a hill to the skyline of the village of Bethlehem kind of changes your perception of Christmas cards! 

When I read of Jesus teaching his disciples and talking to the crowds at the Temple, I can close my eyes and see that - because I sat on those very same steps; they’re called the ‘teaching steps’ – one of the most moving moments for me of the entire trip (in spite of the 100+º temperatures!) 

When I read of the Feast of Pentecost, fifty days after the Resurrection, read of how 3,000 people were baptized on that one day, I can picture the pools (the cisterns) at that end of the Temple complex – because archeologists have recently discovered them – pools that were there for ceremonial washing; and I can see the throngs of people lined up, waiting for their turn to be baptized… having believed in the Gospel that Peter preached to them. I can feel their excitement, and imagine how the power of the Holy Spirit must have been present on that amazing Day! 

But of all the Scripture stories, the ones that have been the most vividly re-drawn for me since our trip to Israel are the stories of Passion Week. Starting with Palm Sunday and on through the Last Supper, the Trial, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection – place names like Golgotha, Bethany, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Mount of Olives are not just words to me, they are real places where I’ve walked and sat and prayed! And these Scriptures just come alive with those mental pictures. 

Palm Sunday in particular, is a day that is deeply rooted in history and sweeping symbolism. The walk from the Mount of Olives and little village of Bethpage to Jerusalem was not terribly far, but it crossed the Kidron Valley – a kind of steep cut in the land that sat in between these two high places. The interesting thing about this geography is that to this day you can stand on the Mount of Olives and look west, directly at what is now called he Golden Gate in the Eastern Wall of the Old City. 

I have a picture of that gate to share with you (on screen).

Now, the Christian tradition says that this is the gate through which Jesus entered the city on that first Palm Sunday. A more accurate statement would be that this is where that gate was, since this particular gate was built after the fall of Jerusalem in 79 AD. But this gate that you’re looking at sits on the foundation of the actual gate of the Second Temple, so it’s quite likely that this is the place where it happened, this is exactly where Jesus entered Jerusalem. 

As you can see, there is no longer a road leading to that Gate (a portion of the original Roman Road of Jesus’ day is preserved in the basement of the church in the Garden of Gethsemane. You can visit it, and walk on it.)  There is a reason why there is no road to these gates, today, however.  It is deliberate. 

If you are thinking that these gates look like they’d be rather difficult to open, then you are quite observant! Impossible would be a better word! The Golden Gate, as it is called, is the only gate in the eastern wall of the old city, and it was bricked up possibly as early as the year 810. So it’s been this way for a long time. At least 12 centuries! Just inside this wall is part of the courtyard of the Dome of the Rock complex, and the inside of this gate is covered with piles of construction debris, pieces of stone, and old wood – i.e., trash. You get the feeling that you are not supposed to notice this Gate! 

What you see outside the gate here in the picture, these structures, is not housing, it is actually a Moslem cemetery. It was built about the time (or just after the time) that this Gate was sealed, and for the same purpose. It was discovered that Jewish tradition taught that Golden Gate is the Gate through which the Messiah will enter Jerusalem, bringing the Jewish nation to redemption.  The Moslem conquerors had a different idea, however, than allowing a Messiah to walk through that gate. 

So they simply sealed it, and just to be certain, they put in a cemetery as well, because they knew that no true Messiah could defile himself by walking through a cemetery! (That would make him ceremonially unclean according to the Law.) The bricks, the cemetery, the trash on the inside are all about ‘keeping the Messiah out’ of Jerusalem! 

Moslem believers place Allah’s final judgment at this gate, as well, and Christians associate the Temple mount with the final return of Jesus Christ. One end result of all this is that this cemetery, and the Jewish cemetery which is now also here, as well as a Christian cemetery have become some of the most expensive places on earth to be laid to rest – going for well over $50,000 each!  People want a front row view of the action when it comes. 

Christians, however, have never been too concerned with the bricked up Eastern Gate, or any cemeteries, and that is because we have a different understanding of history; one which has quite a basis in this day we’re celebrating today – Palm Sunday. 

Just to give a little historical/ Biblical perspective here… Jesus, like most of the poor peasants of his day, walked pretty much everywhere he went. And just before this Passover celebration, Jesus was actually up in the region of Caesarea Philippi, the northern most part of Galilee. (This is the source of the Jordan River.)  For a week or so, Jesus walked, making his way to Jerusalem – stopping on the way frequently to teach. He took kind of the long way around, and so walked a minimum of 60 miles. Not unusual, but a significant distance. 

OK? Now here in Luke 19 he’s on the Mount of Olives, at Bethpage, and he begins to walk down into the Kidron Valley, and then he starts up this steep hill towards the Eastern Gate…this gate with a long tradition of expectation that this is the place where the Messiah would enter the city. Up he walks, up… and finally, just a half a mile from the city gate, he climbs on the back of a donkey, and from that vantage point he enters the city. 

Now, why did Jesus do that?  Certainly not because he was tired of walking! I think, especially when we factor in the response of the people on this day, and consider what Jesus said to the religious leaders, that why he did this is pretty obvious: Jesus was making an intentional statement to the people of Israel. 

In fact, he was deliberately aligning himself with the Prophecy of Zechariah, who tells us that one way that people would recognize the Messiah is that he will be riding on a donkey. 

 Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
   Look, your king is coming to you.
      He is righteous and victorious,
   yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
      riding on a donkey’s colt. (Zech. 9:9) 

Listen to this is from a Biblical Historian named Charles Paige, from the book Jesus and the Land (p. 113f)… 

“By walking from Galilee to Bethpage and then mounting the donkey, Jesus was intentionally bringing together the biblical prophecy of Zechariah and the rabbinic interpretation.  He was, in fact, saying, “I am the Messiah” without saying a word. All the people in the area also knew the prophecy and interpretation, and they greeted Jesus with shouts of “Hosanna”, [meaning, “Save us!] waving palm branches and other cut branches and spreading their garments on the road in front of him as he passed by.  All these actions or reactions by the crowd spoke to their understanding of Jesus’ silent message…” 

[As they walked up the hill] they were within sight of the Antonia fortress, the Roman military headquarters in Jerusalem, where soldiers standing guard on the towers would have noticed the procession.  The Romans were very efficient in keeping ‘order’ and this entrance would have been noticed. The Jewish religious leaders would have noticed, too – and in fact, they raced down that hill from the city, demanding that Jesus silence the crowd. “Tell them to stop saying these things!” Jesus responded by telling them that an announcement was being made. They should join in the celebration rather than try to quiet the crowd. 

He said, ““If they were to keep quiet, the very stones along the road would burst into cheers!”  Yes, Jesus had a message to deliver, and it certainly would seem that the people heard it loud and clear. Or, did they? 

I want to talk briefly with you about a stark emotional contrast that we read in the heart of Jesus, from what comes next in the Gospel of Luke. But I’d like to try to first put this in a context that we might be able to relate to… Few if any of us, likely, have ever been involved in any kind of major political election, (the extent of my political career was once running for my Youth Group president) but we’ve all probably watched at least parts of some Democratic or Republican National Convention, or, you’ve seen an episode or two of West Wing, so I think we’ll get this… 

We all know at least something of how completely focused and dedicated a person needs to be in order to attain even a nomination to a national political office – particularly the President, right?  It’s not an exaggeration to say that it requires pretty much your whole life; a prospective candidate works 18 hour days, watching polls, working the crowds. They have huge teams of people collecting data, arranging schedules, and visits, putting together position papers, fund raising, Web sites, and on and on. 

They do it because they have something driving them that is similar to what we in the church might describe as ‘a calling’ – such a drive that it seems to be coming from outside of them.  So, on the last nights of those Political conventions, when the ‘winner’ is announced, what happens?  Tremendous celebrations, right?  Balloons drop from the ceiling by the thousands (red, white, and blue, of course!)  Confetti rains down like… well, like rain!  Bands start playing, and people cheer, and yell and act all crazy, while the candidate flashes the ‘V’ for victory sign and typically looks very uncomfortable. 

And, this is exactly what one would expect, because it’s a great moment, for them; it is their destiny, it is what they’ve been focusing their entire existence on for years… 

Well, I would suggest to you that it’s not a stretch to find similarities between a presidential Convention and Palm Sunday. Jesus, getting on that donkey and riding up the hill toward the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem was announcing to the people of Israel that he was the Messiah. (He’s the candidate. They had wondered, even hoped so, now he is ‘declaring himself’.) And the first results from the people were pretty favorable, weren’t they? The people not only got it, but embraced him. Here they are, coats strewn on the road, waving palm branches – which was in that day the equivalent of waving the flag. It was a display of Nationalism for this … Messiah.

The Roman occupiers notice, and the Religious leaders notice, and they try to close him down. And we hear that the very rocks of the Land were about to erupt with praise, because the entire creation, behind the scenes, was resonating with the joy – and the truth - of this moment. It’s an amazing day, no wonder we still remember and celebrate it! 

So, let’s switch our gaze to Jesus. What is he doing?  He’s not high-fiving it with his disciples. He’s not celebrating this victory, no big smiles or ‘V’’s today. No balloons or confetti. Let’s read the next couple of verses… 

But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation. 

Jesus comes announcing that he is the Messiah. And the people agree – “You’re the Messiah, all right!”  Yet Jesus weeps, because they really don’t understand. They don’t get it after all.  The people were cheering and welcoming a Messiah, a representative of God who fit the image that they wanted to see. They people were celebrating a Messiah on their terms, one who was all about power – political power, earthly power – a Messiah who they expected to rule on earth.  A Messiah who would lead their people, their nation, into an extended time of peace, and prosperity, and blessing. 

Good ideals, nothing wrong with wanting that, not at all. It’s just that Jesus came for something more, something better. Jesus was offering not just a good life, not just a better life – but eternal life. Not just outward peace from enemies, but peace with God – forever.  Not just a steady supply of food on their tables, but Living Bread, and Living Water that would satisfy our deepest needs forever. 

But his offer of this new life, this abundant life, was very costly. He would soon prove just how costly as he would hang on a cross to buy our way in.  (Certainly, one of the reasons for his tears.) The new way of life that Jesus was inviting us into was going to be costly to his followers as well. Because the life of sacrifice and love and giving, and turning the other cheek… the life of loving your enemies and blessing those who persecute you that Jesus came modeling for us, was his example for the lives of the subjects of this new King.  He said, as I have done, you do, too…

And Jesus wept because he knew that most of the people, having heard what kind of king, what kind of Messiah he really was, most of them were going to walk away.  Jesus wept, it says, because the people ‘Did not accept their opportunity for salvation.’ Jesus wept because he knew that most of the people were not going to be able to get past their own egos, and live for God. Jesus wept because he knew that most people were much more ready to see and point out the sins of other people than to recognize their own, and come to him for real peace and forgiveness… 

Jesus wept because the rejection of his message would lead to the rejection of himself. And because of that the Cross lay ahead. Ironically, the Cross was both the result of his rejection and the means of our reconciliation.

****

You know, every time the Gospel is declared, every time there is an opportunity given to either receive Jesus, to believe, to ‘pick up our cross and follow him’, this same drama is replayed. Like today, for instance… 

Today we are once again welcoming Jesus into our midst, as the Messiah – the Anointed one, the one sent from God to deliver his people. And once again, just like these ancient people, we face a critical choice: are we going to look for a Messiah who fits our image, God on our terms, or can we open our hearts to a new thing and accept the Eternal invitation of Jesus Christ to ‘follow him’? 

It is not an easy life, this following Jesus. It involves forgiveness, and sacrifice; grace and love and mercy – but we always get more in that regard than what we give! It means that we will often end up swimming against the current of our culture, and we may be looked at as odd, but then, that’s because we are citizens of a different kingdom… but Jesus’ promises have been proven true by countless followers over the years who have taken him at his word, and they are true today: (Matthew 11: 28- 29) …“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

Let us welcome the King…